New fashions, avatars, structures, and other builds. And the work behind them.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Bryn Oh's "Hand"

By Gemma Cleanslate

I met Flutter sitting quietly on a bench in a flooded subway. Describing
Flit as she is known is difficult. Her face and body are shrouded in black and
she carries a small battered suitcase in her hand. It is obvious she is not
waiting for the train to move because it never will. I see she is on her
way to somewhere and follow her up the stairs into a barren desolate land
littered with ruined building. There are a few figures moving around but they
all seem to be sightseers like myself. It is quiet and dark as we cross the
street to a shattered shop. Here I begin to find out the story of Flit.

I have entered Bryn Oh’s latest installation called ' Hand'.This
is the first time I have had time to thoroughly enjoy it .I have been to many of
her builds and in my memory this is one of darkest I have seen. Something
terrible has happened in this city . I hope I can find out what it is.

Flutter
stops by a mannequin standing forlornly, unadorned in the window of the abandoned
shop. As I looked around , everything has been abandoned. There are a few lights
glimmering here and there . Flutter takes the hand of the mannequin into her and
leaves and I follow her. The way is treacherous and I fall a few times trying to
keep up with her as we enter into a dilapidated apartment building and
begin to open doors and enter rooms. Some are empty, but others hold very
strange contents. In some rooms are sleepers lying in pods, kept alive by
a vial of food attached to their pods. .

Flit knows them and tries to communicate in her visit carrying on a
one-sided conversation. As we move upward on the outside fire escape the way
becomes harder as the entire structure is damaged. I want to follow her so do it
in precarious ways. Along the way besides the sleepers we encounter strange
things, drones that speak, or project messages on the walls and Flit converses
with them. They try to hide themselves under a strange camouflage.
In one back room we find Juniper , still under her blanket , looking out.
Finally we reach the top of the building where Flit joins a group of other young
persons gathered around a doll house.......

This
installation hold remnants of Bryn’s past art builds and poetry strewn around
the region. After I left Flutter and her friends with her newly found treasure I
wandered up and down the sim looking to see how she spends her days. I found it
intriguing and thought provoking. As you move through the areas with Flit you
will read the story that is the experience. It helps you understand what is
happening now but not why or how it came to be. Flit and her friends are
learning from Dick and Jane as they live their lives. I looked for hope..
perhaps there is some in discovering treasures still there.